Microsoft's new mobile browser you can try now

Microsoft's web browser share is not the same as it used to be. With Chrome now grabbing a huge chunk of the market, Microsoft needs to act fast to regain its former web browser glory. Chrome usage now stands at 64 percent while Microsoft's combined Internet Explorer and Edge usage has dwindled down to around 12 percent.

One reason why people like Chrome so much is due to its persistence across multiple gadgets. There's Chrome for desktops and Chrome for phones and tablets. Android, iOS, Windows - it doesn't matter, as long as you're logged in with your Google account, you can sync all your bookmarks, open tabs, history, and even saved passwords on all your Chrome browser sessions.

Microsoft wants to replicate that. Since cross-gadget continuity and syncing are now must-have software features and the Windows Phone platform is no more, the company is finally introducing its Edge browser to iOS and Android.

Microsoft Edge mobile

With Microsoft Edge mobile and its "continue on PC" feature, users can now push and resume open webpages to a Microsoft Edge PC session.

Similar to Chrome, you can also sync your favorites, history, reading list, and eBooks as long as you're logged in to the same Microsoft account.

However, there's no tab syncing yet. Unlike Chrome, your open tabs aren't shared across mobile and desktop versions of Edge yet. We are hoping this feature will be implemented in future versions soon since it's one of the killer features of Chrome.

Surprisingly, the default search engine for Edge mobile can be changed from Bing to Google or Yahoo. Now that's a great decision to win more users, I think. Other useful settings include password and form saving, pop-up and cookie blocking and clearing your browser history. Ad blocking and Cortana support are noticeably absent in this early version.

iPhone and Android phone users can test drive Microsoft Edge mobile now. iPad and Android tablet users will have to wait since it's not available on these platforms yet.

How to get early access to Edge mobile

Microsoft Edge mobile is now available via Apple’s TestFlight program. The Android version will be available for testing through the Play Store soon. If you would like to beta test it now, you can sign up for a Windows Insider account here to get early access. Edge mobile requires the Windows 10 Fall Creator's Insider Preview so you'll definitely need a Windows Insider account.

The final version of Microsoft Edge Mobile is set for release to all users by the end of the year.

Try popular free software before anyone else

If you want access to more early versions of popular software, you can sign up to be a beta tester.